This was one of the movies on my Embarrassing List and boy what a doozy! A brilliant film to be sure, but not something I suspect you want to watch on the happiest day of your life.
So this movie starts out with lots of things that seem like a good idea at the time, but quickly descend into some of the worst stuff you’ve ever seen. I’m quite glad I watched this in a group because I totally understand now why this movie ended up on a list called the ‘20 Most Disturbing Movies’. Interestingly, despite the fact that not one single good thing happens to any of these people, I am really glad to have seen this movie, for no other reason than it is really, really good. I also have a lot more respect for Darren Aronofsky now, considering that it would seem that he did all the stuff that made this movie great first. The self titled ‘hip hop montages’, in which he actually cuts together short clips that make “music” when watched all together and it is with these that he strings the two main stories in this movie together. The music deserves a nod here, being the thing that draws you into the movie and the string that holds you to it. (Also the most used trailer music in history…)
The one thing that was the most disturbing about this movie for me was the one thing that I actually liked the most: the sex. I felt that the way in which they handled the extremely disturbing sexual situations in this movie impressed me very much. Instead of being throw away plot twists they dealt very specifically with what happens when a woman needs to use her body in degrading and disgusting ways in order to get what she needs. It’s true that in this case it was drugs, but if disturbing sexual situations were handled with this much integrity by all filmmakers I would never have a single problem with it.
All in all, this is one movie I’m very glad to have seen. It’s extremely influential, extremely pervasive and extremely disturbing. And I will be heading out to get this on DVD as soon as possible.
A while back I posted this list of movies I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t seen. So I’ve been working my way slowly through this list (quite slowly, actually) and this weekend I managed to get through two of them. Well, I had thought so, until I realized I hadn’t added Seven Samurai to the original list, thus making it only one of the movies. Damn it!
Seven Samurai is an incredible film. At three hours 37 minutes it’s certainly a marathon, and I definitely didn’t realize what I was getting myself into. As epic as it is though, it is actually only a series of intensely personal stories. Every blogger, critic and book written on film has gone over and over this movie, but I think it’s worth saying that it’s brilliant, it’s influential and it’s a must see. I did find it interesting though that, while ridiculously long, it doesn’t use its length in a way that says, ‘Hey look at what I can do!’ For reference, I point you to Peter Jackson’s King Kong, which felt at times much more like you were watching a child play in a sandbox, showing his parents the new tricks he learned and when they say, ‘It’s time for bed’, he say, ‘No, wait, just one more thing!’ Samurai, instead, chooses to craft and hone its characters so that in the last 5 minutes of the movie – in the final battle – we understand what they are doing and why in a very intimate way. It’s true, about an hour could have been cut out of this movie, but then we would never have cared for the farmers, and there would have been no point. We would not mourn a single death, and there would have been no point. In essence, it would have been the formulaic, distilled version of this movie that we DO see come from Hollywood everyday. It totally should have been on this list!
Rashomon was considerably shorter, coming in at only 88 minutes. While Seven Samurai used its length to tell the very essential part of its story, Rashomon used its length equally well and certainly for its own devices. Unfortunately, this movie was sold to me as a ‘courtroom drama’, which, if you’ve seen it, is hilarious. Not only is it the farthest thing from a courtroom drama, but it’s also not the point of the movie. The point of the movie is to mess with your perceptions of what is real, not only in the real world, but especially in film. Robert Altman’s introduction summed it up best, when you read a book your interpretations of the events and characters are your own, but in film, everything is there for you. You see what the camera sees. In this movie, what you think is the truth is constantly changing, which changed film forever.
I did have some issue with Kurosawa’s women, though. Without browbeating it too much, I felt that the sole female character in Seven Samurai was impotent and useless, other than a flight-of-fancy device, and in Rashomon I had serious problems with the mentality surrounding rape, even though I realize that those ideas had more to do with the time than they did with the filmmaker’s specific feelings about these topics. I didn’t let them prevent me from enjoying two excellent movies, however.
With a lot of cross-over cast this set of movies has very nicely whetted my palette for more Kurosawa… especially something called Throne of Blood. Which, I guess, will just have to go on next year’s list!
March 31, 2009
in Uncategorized
When I first turned on this movie I noticed two things immediately. The first is that it starred Jessica Harper, who I know only from Phantom of the Paradise, but also that, clearly, Dario Argento is insane. Then I spent the next 25 minutes saying, ‘Huh?’ and trying to peer at whatever was happening in that dark part of the screen (yes I watched it in the dark), while generally feeling a sense of unease and creepiness.
The plot is pretty simple and it’s generally easy to follow. I definitely moves at a slow pace, but for some reason that totally works. I’m not sure that I’m on board with these being some of the ‘best kills in horror’, but I was impressed by the creativity of at least one.
By the time you get to the end, you’re certainly not scared, but you’re definitely sufficiently creeped out. I enjoyed very much Argento’s use of colour and light (or, very often, lack thereof) and I really enjoyed seeing Jessica Harper in something else.
This was my first Argento and I’m quite glad I saw it. I’m not sure what ‘place’ it holds in my world of horror yet, but I’m pleased to have finally seen what everyone’s always talking about. It’s also whetted my appetite for some more Argento (and not of the Asia variety). If you’re into horror, check this movie out. It’s pretty good, but you do need to take your patience and see it through. Don’t worry, the movie doesn’t make it that difficult to do that. Just go with the crazy lights.
(Incidentally, this movie is currently being re-made, with Natalie Portman being rumored to play the Harper role. It’s being redone by an American production company so I have no hope. American’s just won’t understand Argento’s arty style and that’s so much of the movie. Plain and simple.)
March 30, 2009
in Uncategorized
So it seems that there are more than a few versions of Blade Runner to get through, but I’ve done it. I managed to get through one. And now I can kinda see why people lose their minds over it. It’s arty, it’s futuristic, it’s nothing they’d ever seen before, and it was most definitely groundbreaking. Oh. And Rutger Hauer was bad ass. Seriously. I really dug him. In fact, screw Deckerd at the constant question of whether or not he is or is not a Replicant. Let’s just see more of Pris and Roy.
So I’m glad I saw it and I’m looking forward to seeing the other versions, for comparison. And now I’m not one of those people who’s never seen it… although if you still are, don’t worry. I think there WAY more of you than you think!
March 26, 2009
in Uncategorized
It’s like some kind of high-tech tranquilizer. I do not know what is wrong with me, but I still couldn’t make it all the way through the damn movie last night. The good news is that a) this movie was considerably more interesting than any other time I tried to watch it before and b) I actually WANT to finish watching it. I’m going to give it one more try on the weekend and see if I can’t make it all the way.
So it’s good, right? I can already see how so many filmmakers have based so much of their ‘visions of the future’ on this movie. Minority Report comes to mind. Bottom line, I’m loving it, and I can’t believe that it’s taken me this long to see it. Now if I could only stay conscious!!
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